The lights blinded the blonde as she sprinted into the emergency room. It was 2:00 in the morning when she answered the call from a familiar number, expecting wonderful news about the day's events. At 2:05, she realized that wasn't the case. She bolted into the small town's only hospital at 2:13. By 2:15, she was pounding on the cold counter in front of her, demanding the nurse tell her where the brunette's room was. A few minutes later, a tall dark-skinned man walked up to her. His normal toothy smile was gone. It had been replaced with a quivering lip and glassy eyes. His arms felt foreign as he enveloped her in a soggy hug. Her tense body went limp in his embrace as she understood that she was too late. At 2:26 on a Saturday morning, one of the only people that ever truly matter to Quinn Fabray was taken from her life forever.

Rachel walked into the choir room with her head low. She tried to avoid anyone noticing her, which was normally so simple. Nobody in the club really cared for her very much. She assumed it would be easy to sneak away into the back corner. As she sat down, safely avoiding eye contact with any other students, she relaxed. Everybody seemed to be caught up in whatever they were doing. She glanced around the room at the teenagers she wanted to call peers. Kurt was busy chatting away with Mercedes about the shopping they needed to do. Tina and Mike were busy whispering in each other's ears; and Sam was playing his guitar nearby with Artie mimicking the more elaborate chords in runs. Finn and Puck were discussing football, Xbox, and football onXbox. Brittany walked in with her pinkie comfortably intertwined with Santana's. Lauren would probably be late again, if she even bothered to show up this time.

Rachel sighed as she opened up the binder that held all her sheet music and vocal notes for various different club members. She tried desperately to win them all over, but her personality made it too difficult for the majority of them to tolerate her, let alone befriend her. She flipped through the thoroughly detailed notes and came to a stop when she saw Quinn's. Realizing the blonde's absence, Rachel wondered of her whereabouts. They shared most of their classes due to the limited space for AP students. Quinn had been in every class. Rachel even spotted the other girl walking into the ladies room while she hurried off to Glee. The brunette always had certain sense of worry when it came to Quinn Fabray. Ever since her dramatic scene in the bathroom during prom, the former cheerleader seemed to be coming unhinged.

Thankfully, she wasn't the only one to notice the missing girl. While she debated calling attention to herself, she heard Finn speaking to Puck.

"Where's Mr. Schue?" Finn asked as he looked around the room.

"I don't know." Puck shrugged nonchalantly. "He's probably just fighting with Sylvester somewhere."

"What about Quinn?" He asked, sitting up in his chair.

It stung Rachel when she heard Finn say the other girl's name with so much care. After he broke up with her and left her at a funeral with no way home, she decided he had no right to her. The fact that he tried to maintain a friendship was just ridiculous. It became apparent that Quinn shared the same feeling as Rachel. The starlet couldn't help but notice Quinn rolling her eyes every time Finn exchanged friendly comments or flashed her one of his goofy smiles. Finn however, being the daft kid he was, didn't pick up on the hints. In fact, he saw the other girl's lack of response as an invitation for more attempts at redemption.

"Dude, she's never going to like you again, okay? Stop trying to be her damn friend. She seriously wants nothing to do with you." Puck said, obviously annoyed by his so-called friend.

"Whatever, man. You don't know what's going on with us." He replied. Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes at the monstrous boy's elementary-level retorts. "Besides, I just wanted to know where she was. She's usually not late for anything."

"I'll go check the bathroom," Santana said. She was clearly eavesdropping on the boys' conversation, just like Rachel was. "She was walking in when I left." Brittany lifted her legs off of the Latina's lap where they were resting luxuriously moments before. They stood together and left for the restroom.

Once they left, Puck and Finn continued with their conversation as Rachel tried to remain invisible. Kurt looked over at her, furrowing his brow at her ensemble. He moved over a few chairs and leaned towards her. Rachel panicked as he whispered to her.

"You know, Rachel." He said, unsuccessfully trying not to draw attention to them "I'm all for trying something new, but summer is drawing near and you're dressed like a baby Eskimo." She heard Mercedes snicker several seats away. "As for the glasses, we're inside now. You don't have to hide your precious eyes from the fluorescent lighting. Granted, it might do positively nothing for your complexion, but it's nothing to be afraid of." He said, smiling at her.

Rachel chuckled a bit at the boy in front of her. He was only trying to be friendly. She smiled at him and sweetly replied "I appreciate the attention, Kurt, but it's a simple precaution. I had my eyes dilated this weekend, thus making them more sensitive to light than usual." she grinned, tapping the sides of her sun glasses. "As for your comparison between my ensemble and that of a child living in Alaska, I find that rather farfetched. I'm only wearing long sleeves, whereas Eskimos typically wear large coats made out of the skin and fur of various different animals. As you well know, I am a proud vegan; so wearing the usual attire for a 'baby Eskimo' would not set well with me."

Kurt's smile faltered for a moment as he tried to decipher if what she said was an insult, or just Rachel being her usual overly articulate self. Before he had the chance to decide, he jolted forward. Mr. Schuester entered the classroom and clapped his hands together loudly, gaining everyone's attention. Kurt moved back to Mercedes, giving Rachel one last look of confusion. Mr. Schue turned to the board and proceeded to write "Family" in large black letters, circling it to better emphasize the lesson he was about to teach. Before he started on his predictable speech about togetherness and learning to love everyone in the group like members of their families, Santana and Brittany walked in with Quinn in between them. The taller girls sandwiched the tiny blonde, giving her no room to escape.

"Sorry we're late Mr. Schue," Santana said, wrapping an arm around Quinn's waist. "Just getting the rest of our crew together." She flashed him a smile that looked more like a sneer from Rachel's view. He nodded at them, and the three girls sat down together in the back row, only a couple seats away.

"Now guys," Mr. Schuester said, bouncing right back into his cliché lesson. "This week I want us to focus on learning how to love everyone in the group like they're a member of our own family. I want each of you to pick a song about togetherness and sing it for the class. I don't care if it's a duet, a trio, or a solo. I just want to feel the love!" he said euphorically. His crooked smile indicated that he was not only serious, but that he probably thought this was the best idea that ever popped into his head; even though Rachel suspected it was more Ms. Pillsbury's idea than his. He clapped his hands together again and pumped both his fists forward in encouragement. "I have confidence in you guys." He said. His voice was tender and kind. He really did have the upmost faith in his students.

As he made his way to his office, Rachel watched the room slowly come to life. Mercedes and Kurt both helped each other brainstorm for their individual song selections, Sam and Artie decided to partner up since they already had a pretty good "thing" going. Santana and Brittany said they had sheet music in their lockers and left the room, although Rachel doubted either of them read music, let alone withheld sheets of it in their lockers. Tina and Mike didn't even move from their spots. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms and talked about their typical song-and-dance combo. Puck pulled out his phone. He was probably asking Lauren where she was, since the two of them were an apparent item. Seeing this as a dismissal, Finn stood up and looked around the room. Rachel quickly diverted her attention to the music in her lap, trying to make it apparent that she had no intention of singing with him. She couldn't sing a song with him again. It always ended with a terribly awkward situation. Either Finn fell in love with Rachel, or vice versa. She refused to put herself through that again.

She flipped through the music to Mama Who Bore Me which was a wildly inappropriate song for this situation, but Finn wouldn't know that. She heard him walking towards her and she felt herself getting nervous. Just as she was about to start humming the song rather loudly, she heard his voice.

"Hey Quinn," he said to the girl glowering beneath him.

Rachel's eyes darted up to him. Surely he wouldn't have the audacity to ask this girl if she wanted to perform a duet with him. Surely his intelligence surpassed even thatlevel of stupidity.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do a duet with me," he offered.

Rachel had been wrong before.

"I just thought, you know, since we sounded so awesome the last time we sang together, maybe we could give another shot." He grinned at her and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to seem like the adorable star child he used to be.

Quinn just pursed her lips together and closed her eyes. Rachel knew that if Finn continued talking, the blonde would explode. If she yelled at Finn, he would yell back, and that would only lead to the entire club being put in an awful side-choosing position.

Still, Finn pursued.

"I figured we could try some classic rock, you know?" He sat down next her, causing Rachel to have to use her peripherals which weren't in their best shape due to the glasses on her face. Still, she listened quietly.

"I really think we owe it to one another to try and sing a song together. You know, like, a song about forgiveness and burning dams or whatever." Rachel shook her head at his horrible attempt to sound intellectual. She knew he meant burning bridges, but she doubted the other girl cared enough to even try to understand. "I know we sort of have this past, but I want to put that behind us. I want us to be friends. I did some awful things, and so did you-"

Rachel felt her heart stop.

Quinn's eye bolted open "Excuse me?" she hissed.

"Well sure," he said, not picking up on his cue to stop talking. "I mean, we both did stuff we regret, right? Like you and Puck, and Sam, and me. You know, I did some sort of bad stuff too. Like with Santana. But I think we should-"

"What?" Quinn said, her voice growing much louder. They were all doomed if Finn didn't just shut the hell up and walk away.

"Come one, Quinn, don't try to act all innocent. I'm trying to say we're in the same place. We're on the same floor, or whatever." He was getting frustrated as well. The other club members were staring at this point, but none of them would step in.

"Actually, Finn." Rachel said, surprised that her voice was the first to say anything. The others seemed shocked as well. Puck held his phone up, ready to record whatever smack down Finn might have coming. "You two aren't on the same level," she said, correcting him gently. "Quinn obviously has no interest in redemption, and I advise you to end your conversation with her before this predicament grows out of hand. None of us want to deal with choosing sides, like you always make us do." She looked up at him, giving him a look of sincerity that he predictably couldn't see. "Trust me, it would benefit everyone if you just do a solo." she said, offering him a solemn smile.

He pouted and stomped away, grumbling under his breath about "stupid girls" and their lack of ability to "let things go".

After Finn left, everyone went back to their conversation without missing a beat, as if they didn't even witness what happened. Puck put his phone away and pouted as he walked over to Artie and Sam. He always liked it when Rachel gave one of her smart speeches to Finn. The fact that the tall boy could barely comprehend an average adult conversation made it even more amusing. His face always went blank as he attempted to understand what Rachel said to him. Puck nodded to his fellow Jew as he sat down with the other guys, and offered his services. Rachel smiled to herself at the victory. Then, she remembered the girl she was trying to help. She turned to look at Quinn, only to find her staring back. Her eyes were cold and gave away no emotion.

"What was that about?" She asked. Usually, her words only came out as daggers when she talked to Rachel. This time she sounded genuinely curious.

"I just wanted to help." Rachel said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I knew that if he kept rambling on with no intention of listening to your blatant distaste for him, it would only lead to the two of you at each other's throats." She looked up at Quinn and decided not to push her limit by saying she didn't want the other girl to go through another fight with him. Her relationship with the blonde was still only pre-friendship. Actually, their relationship was more post-loathing on Quinn's part. She didn't want to risk jumping the gun and going too fast.

Quinn simply nodded and eyed the tiny girl. The silence was growing uncomfortable for Rachel, so she decided to try and keep up the conversation without focusing on such a negative topic.

"Have you given any thought to who you're going to work with?" She asked, twiddling her fingers. "I heard you singing with Santana and Brittany on a few occasions. If you all worked hard enough, I'm quite confident that you three would sound perfectly nice."

"What happened to you?" She asked, staring into the other girl's glasses.

"Oh," Rachel said, chuckling. "I had my eyes dilated this weekend."

"That only takes a couple of hours, and then your eyes go back to normal." She replied quickly

"It's a simple precaution, Quinn. I don't want to ruin my-"

"You're not stupid, and you're not crazy." She said bluntly. The statement caught Rachel off guard. No one in the glee club would question her intellect, but many stipulated her sanity. She glanced around the room quickly before laughing quietly.

"Consider yourself lucky that no one else heard that." Rachel said. "I'd hate for my allusion to be shattered so easily." She smiled, planning on changing the topic as she normally did.

"I'm serious, Berry. What happened to you and why are you hiding it from everyone?"

Rachel looked down at her hands. They were shaking ever so slightly. Very few people were able to make her this nervous. She made a note to herself to inquire the reasoning later.
"I appreciate your apparent concern, but it really isn't anyone's business but my own." She said; her voice barely over a whisper. She cleared her throat and pasted on her smile."Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the ladies room."

Rachel rose to her feet and darted out of the choir room. She hurried past Santana and Brittany, who were on their way back to the club. Neither of them had sheet music in their hand, but they seemed to be quite please with themselves. The brunette had no time to question them. She had to get away from the people in that tiny room.
She ran into the bathroom, and thanked God that the school was empty already. She pulled off her glasses and stared at the marks on her face. Her bangs covered the scratch on her forehead well enough; but the bruise on her eye was making itself more apparent, since Rachel had neglected to reapply any makeup since she left for school that morning. She quickly pulled out the compact in her jacket pocket and dabbed the foundation to her eye. Pain shot through her face as she pressed a particularly sore spot. Thankfully, it wasn't as large as the ones on her body. She lifted up her shirt to check the black and blue mass on her ribs. It had gotten smaller, thankfully; and the edges were turning a rather gruesome shade of yellow. Rachel sighed. At least that meant it was healing.

The cuts on her knees and legs were itching, but she kept herself from giving in. It would look odd if she randomly started to scratch herself. That would only bring more negative attention to her. She was perfectly content with being a "freak" most of the time, but she knew that rumors would turn her itchy legs into something bizarre and barbaric. One kid might say she got fleas from camping, and then by the end of the day everyone would assume she was a werewolf of some sort.

She placed her hand on the bruise and thought of the event that put it there. Her eyes began to water as she reminisced. To keep from ruining her freshly caked on makeup, Rachel took a deep breath and pressed her finger tips on her bottom eyelids. The tears collected on her hot fingers. She drew them away and washed her hands in the sink. The cool water calmed her and allowed her to drain all the negative feelings out. Then she allowed herself to leave the positive feelings behind as well. She walked out of the restroom feeling numb.

Any emotion she felt was gone now, leaving the actress to do what she did best; lie.